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Midlander seeks SVSU top post

By Jon Becker for the Daily News

Published 3:00 am, Saturday, February 1, 2014

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Donald Bachand

Donald Bachand

Midlander seeks SVSU top post

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Midland’s Donald Bachand would like to culminate his long and distinguished career at Saginaw Valley State University by becoming its new president. Bachand, currently SVSU’s provost and vice president for academic affairs, is the only internal candidate among four finalists vying for the presidency.

He realizes it won’t be easy to replace the retiring Eric Gilbertson, the institution’s president for the past 24 years. But Bachand, who began his career at SVSU in 1978 as an assistant professor of criminal justice and has risen through the ranks, believes he’s equal to the challenge.

“I get this. I understand the complexities and demands of the job,” Bachand said Thursday during an open forum on campus that’s part of the candidates’ interview process. “I have a clear understanding of what the president does.”

Bachand told the audience that he has not been motivated by a long-held desire to become president and he doesn’t want to work elsewhere “or I would have moved on years ago.”

“It never entered my mind,” he said of becoming a college president. “An opportunity presented itself. I’ve been here a long time and think I’ve played a role in the growth of this institution and the work culture here. This is a chance for me to put down a couple of more footprints at the end of my career.”

Bachand acknowledges there are daunting challenges ahead for SVSU.

“This is a major transition and while we don’t need a huge course correction, these are difficult times. We have a student recruitment problem. We have a student retention problem. Now, we’re being challenged by media on what we do and the value of education. If you don’t recognize the difficulties that lie ahead, you’re being naïve.”

Bachand did not point fingers when mentioning student recruitment and retention issues. SVSU simply had to focus on growth-related demands through the years.

“It’s nobody’s fault,” he said. “We’ve spent 49 years responding to rapid growth, and that involves a lot of issues. Now we can focus on maintaining our market share and our high-quality academic programs that meet work force needs.”

SVSU’s winter enrollment is 9,729, just shy of the 10,000 figure that officials say is about the school’s “right size.” Bachand, however, cautions against becoming complacent.

“There is no such thing as status quo,” he said. “You either get better or worse. There’s a lot of competition.”

Avoiding duplication of offerings by forming partnerships with other colleges and staying true to its mission as a regional institution are keys, Bachand offered.

“We’re not in competition with Harvard. If you can link with other institutions, especially ones that offer equipment and programs you don’t, you’ll avoid duplicating services, which can be wasteful.”

Not only is transitioning from a longtime president a pivotal time in SVSU history, Bachand pointed to an April date with a higher education accrediting body as critically important.

“Our Super Bowl is upon us in a couple of months,” he said of the Higher Learning Commission visit. “They focus on every aspect of the college, in every conceivable way.”

The commission, which oversees educational institutions in about 19 states, reviews SVSU every 10 years, said spokesman J.J. Boehm.

As SVSU expands its international student recruiting efforts, Bachand said diversity is also emphasized among the faculty ranks.

“We’re doing a pretty good job in this area,” he said. “Diversification is critically important. We have faculty from all parts of the world. That is the world, which is why it’s important for students to interact with these faculty.”

Bachand and three other finalists are vying to become SVSU’s fourth president following Samuel Marble, Jack Ryder and Eric Gilbertson.